Yup, if you or your ancestors are from Mexico or Central America you
are almost certainly an Indian!! Central America includes El Salvador,
Guatemala and Panama. When the European Spaniards first came to Mexico
and Central America they came as explorers, solders or missionaries. They
were all men and they wanted wives. The only women around were Indians.
So the Spanish men married Indian women. Their children were Meztisos.
A Meztiso is half Indian and half Spanish. The Meztiso men married other
Indian women or Meztiso women. All the children had Spanish names, but
they were half or more Indian. With the exception of a few Spanish families
in Mexico city, almost all the people in Mexico are Meztiso or pure blooded
Indian.

Many of the Mexican and central American tribes were very civilized.
The Aztecs, Mayans and others built large beautiful cities. The Aztecs
were also called the Mexica, which is where the word Mexico comes from.
The Mexica or Aztecs came down from the north around 1215 and conquered
the valley where Mexico city is now. They may have come from or through
Texas on the was to Mexico. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was built
on an island in the middle of lake Texcoco. They built causeways with roads
on them across the lake to the city. There were fine large buildings made
from stone. There were wide roads and large plazas. The most spectacular
building were the temples built on top of huge pyramids. When the first
Spanish explorer Cortez saw Tenochtitlan, it was a larger city than London
or Paris in Europe. Cortez said that Tenochtitlan was also cleaner than
any European city. We need some good pictures of Aztec or Mayan temples
and sites to post here. If you have some good ones please share them with
us.

These Mexican and Central American people were very civilized. They
Maya had writing . The Aztec and Maya had mathematics and science. The
Maya invented the idea of zero, 0, before the Muslims did in the old world.
This was a great intellectual accomplishment. They could predict eclipses
and the positions of some of the planets in the sky hundreds of years in
advance. They had very accurate calendars.

If you are from Mexico, your ancestors might have been Aztecs, Olmecs
or Mayan. Or maybe they were Huichol, Yaqui or Mayo Indians. Try asking
your parents or grandparents if they know what tribe you are from. Many
times they can recall. If they can, be sure to ask them to tell you all
they can remember, so you can remember and tell your grand kids.

We are going to add pages on the major Mexican tribes soon. Write us an tell us what Mexican or central American tribes
you want most. If you have pictures and stories you could share with us
please do.